Debt review fees which are payable by you as the consumer, are tightly regulated by the National Credit Regulator. Fees are payable in month 1 or within the first 30 days from the date of your application.
The current NCR-set fees are as follows, but keep in mind that the NCR can change these over time:
- A once-off application fee of R50 excl. VAT.
- A once-off administration fee of R300 excl. VAT.
- A once-off restructuring fee of one hundred percent (100%) of your first instalment of the debt re-arrangement plan, up to a maximum of R8000 excl. VAT for single applications and R9000 excl. VAT for joint applications, e.g. when you and your spouse are married in Community of Property (CoP).
- A monthly after-care fee of 5% excl. VAT of the monthly rehabilitation amount (up to a maximum of R450).
- A monthly transactional payment distribution fee as per NCR Guidelines, to a maximum of R15 (incl. VAT) per debt obligation, paid to the Payment Distribution Agency (PDA). In our case, the PDA is Hyphen Technologies (Pty) Ltd.
Although debt counselling fees are standard across the debt counselling industry, legal fees vary from one debt counsellor to the next. Debt Sage’s legal fees of R1 000 are the lowest in the industry. This fee is dependent on getting all the required acceptances from your credit providers on the proposed restructured accounts, whereafter we then lodge the application to get consent order at the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT). This is in contrast to our competitors, who sometimes charge in excess of R6 000 for legal fees.
Your debt review application will be referred to either the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) or Magistrate's Court to obtain a consent order, officially placing you in debt review. Debt Sage cannot be held accountable for the NCT's or Magistrate’s ruling and the final decision is that of the NCT or Magistrate.
When one or more credit providers have not accepted the repayment plan, the debt review application is referred to a Magistrates Court to obtain a consent order. The consumer is then liable for a legal fee of R3 500 excl. VAT, which is payable to the attorney. This is payable in the Month 2 and may be deducted from your monthly payment to the PDA.
If the debt review application is referred to the NCT to obtain a consent order, you will pay R1000 excl. VAT for the submission, which includes the filing fee, printing, transportation, and stationery costs. This is payable after all credit providers have accepted the repayment plan, in the Month 2, to Debt Sage and may be deducted from your monthly payment to the PDA.